1,012 related texts · Page 4 of 22
Would you still offer that help? That’s the dilemma, in a sense, that God faces in the lead-up to the Exodus. As we learn in Legends of the Jews, God, in speaking to Moses, lays ba...
We often picture Moses standing alone on the mountain, receiving the word of God. But what about the women? Did they play a role? And if so, what was it? According to Legends of th...
We all know the story: Moses goes up Mount Sinai, gets the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites, left to their own devices, panic. But the story, as we find it in Legends of the Je...
While Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the Torah, they were down below, melting their gold into a Golden Calf (Exodus 32). A pretty devastating moment. But here's where it get...
It’s easy to picture Moses as the ultimate authority figure, standing atop Mount Sinai. But what about the practicalities of his rule? The elders certainly held a position of respe...
It's a story filled with nuance and, frankly, a little bit of surprise. These two nations, Moab and Ammon, were neighbors of the Israelites, descendants of Lot (Abraham's nephew) t...
That's where we find ourselves in this intriguing little story. The story unfolds with an unnamed seeker, desperate to find Moses. He believes that God may have commanded Moses to ...
That’s kind of what we’re dealing with in the story of Joram, son of Ahab. Now, Ahab wasn't exactly winning any "Father of the Year" awards. But according to Legends of the Jews, J...
Ten times Pharaoh promised to free the Hebrews. Ten times he broke his word. Each broken promise brought something worse than the last, and according to Josephus, the plagues that ...
The passage in Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei Zohar 56 dives deep into a pivotal moment: the sin of the Golden Calf. Remember that story? Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving the Tora...
And it all revolves around this seemingly simple word: Te-ru’ah. What exactly is a te-ru’ah? Often translated as a “shout” or “alarm,” the te-ru’ah is that broken, staccato sound w...
It’s more than just a call to prayer; according to the mystical tradition, it's a potent weapon, a cosmic alarm clock, and a key to unlocking hidden realities. The Tikkun (spiritua...
We usually focus on the sound, the feeling, the tradition... but there's a whole mystical layer hidden within those ancient calls. to a passage from the Tikkun (spiritual repair)ei...
(Exodus 19:18) "And the whole of Mount Sinai smoked": I might think the place of the divine Presence alone; it is, therefore, written "the whole." "for the L–rd had come down upon ...
"And the whole mountain trembled" (Exodus 19:18) — when God descended onto Mount Sinai, the mountain shook. But the Mekhilta reveals that Sinai was not the only mountain trembling....
(Exodus 19:20) "And the L–rd descended upon Mount Sinai": I might think that the "Glory" itself descended on Mount Sinai. It is, therefore, written (Ibid. 20:19) "that from the hea...
Rebbi — Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi — grappled with a verse that seems to describe God physically descending to Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:20): "And the Lord went down upon Mount Sinai upon ...
We've fasted, we've prayed, we've poured out our hearts. And then… one final, powerful blast of the shofar. But why? It's more than just a signal that the fast is over and bagels a...
Jewish tradition has some pretty vivid ideas about that, especially when it comes to the resurrection of the dead. It’s not just a "poof" and everyone’s back. It's a process, a cos...
We often focus on the almost-sacrifice, the angel's intervention, the ram that appears in the nick of time (Genesis 22). But what became of that ram after its offering? Rabbi Chani...
We find him, as Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (Chapter 40) tells us, leading his flock. Not just anywhere, mind you, but all the way to Horeb. That's right, Mount Sinai, also known as Hor...
In Sifrei Devarim, we find this little gem: "Much to you dwelling in this mountain." It sounds straightforward. Like a simple acknowledgement of gratitude. But, as always, there’s ...
It grapples with the very nature of our connection to the land, specifically Egypt and Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. The passage begins by questioning the intent behind a part...
Our ancestors grappled with these very issues, and the Torah, in its wisdom, offered a radical solution: shemittah, the Sabbatical year. But what exactly is shemittah? Well, it's m...
Today, let’s untangle a fascinating detail from the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) and Shemot (Exodus) concerning the Hebrew slave – the eved Ivri – who chooses to remain with his m...
We start with a verse from Vayikra (Leviticus) 25:37: "Your money you shall not give him on interest, and on increase you shall not give your food.” Simple enough. Except, as alway...
Our tradition understands that feeling deeply. It even has laws to protect against it. to a little corner of Jewish law, specifically dealing with the ethics of lending and borrowi...
Let’s talk about lending money, but with a twist – a Jewish perspective that’s surprisingly relevant today. The book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the last of the five books of Moses, ...
The incense altar, the half-shekel tax, and the anointing oil in (Exodus 30:1-38) all receive remarkable expansions in the Targum Jonathan. What the Hebrew text presents as ritual ...
(24) (Fol. 21b) It is written (Ps. 12, 7) The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver refined in the crucible of earth, purified seven times. Rab and Samuel both explain it. On...
It’s more than just a geographical landmark; it’s a place brimming with meaning, judgment, and even desire. to the heart of what the Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teach...
Leprosy, for example, wasn't just a disease. According to some Jewish traditions, it could be a sign of something deeper, a consequence of wrongdoing. But what wrongdoing specifica...
We often read the opening verses of Genesis, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water," and move on. But the Rabbis saw so much more in those words! What images did they...
Shemot Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, points this out explicitly. "Come and see," it urges, "how excellent this portion is!" What's so ex...
Jewish tradition teaches us that our actions, especially those involving money and compassion, carry immense weight. to a fascinating passage from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of ra...
to a passage from Shemot Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Exodus, and see how shockingly relevant it still is. We're talking about money, lending, an...
And Jewish tradition, as always, has some fascinating perspectives. The Book of Exodus, Shemot in Hebrew, is rich with laws and ethical guidelines. And within Shemot Rabbah, a clas...
Our tradition wrestles with that very feeling in the story of the Golden Calf. Imagine the scene: Moses is up on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, the very blueprint for a just and...
It’s a question that’s intrigued Jewish thinkers for centuries. How did he know when a day had passed, when night had fallen, without the usual cues? The answer, as we find in Shem...
It’s a powerful thing to consider. The ancient sages certainly thought so. Our story today comes from Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Leviti...
(Lev. 25:14:) “When you sell property to your kinsman.” This text is related (to Prov. 28:22), “An evil-eyed person moves quickly after wealth, [and he does not know that loss will...
(Lev. 25:25,35:) “And when your relative becomes poor and sells some of his property […]. And when your relative becomes poor, and his strength fails.” This text is related (to Pro...
(Lev. 25:25:) ”When your relative becomes poor and sells some of his property, then his redeemer shall come.” Who is his redeemer? I am He, as stated (in Jer. 50:33-34), “The Child...
(Lev. 25:25:) “When your relative becomes poor.” This is Israel, of whom it is stated (in Ps. 106:43), “so they became poor through their iniquity.” (Lev. 25:25, cont.:) “And sells...
(Numb. 3:15:) “Enroll the Children of Levi.” This tribe was dearer to the Holy One, blessed be He,86Numb. R. 3:8. than all the tribes, as stated (in I Sam. 2:28), “And I chose him ...
The Book of Jubilees, a text not found in the Hebrew Bible but considered scripture by some, gets pretty specific about the calendar. It envisions a perfectly ordered world, where ...
We're heading into the Book of Jubilees. Now, the Book of Jubilees isn't actually part of the Hebrew Bible as we know it, but it’s a fascinating text. It’s considered part of the J...
It all starts with a divine download, so to speak. The book tells us it contains the secret history of how time is divided – days, weeks, years, and especially those big jubilees, ...
